“It’s worth taking a step back from the emotions and technical details of all of these events to ask about the broader trend they point to. Superficially, they point to a schizophrenic public: leaning pro-life; increasingly in favor of gay marriage; divided on gun control but unwilling to pull the trigger, so to speak, on significantly tightened gun laws. But on a deeper level, these all look like examples of the biggest cultural-political trend in America: a response to the growing complexity of 21st century life that revives individualism and states’ rights.

The federal legislature, the Court, and state governments, both blue and red, seem to have adopted this principle of devolution as a strategy for dealing with the most politically toxic issues of our time. America is too big and its citizens are too diverse for one-size-fits-all solutions to some of our culture war issues. Some traditional American views seem newly relevant as we cope with these issues: individuals should be allowed as much freedom as is consistent with their not harming others; wherever possible, states should be free to settle their affairs on their own terms.

Some 18th-century ideas are proving surprisingly useful in 21st-century America.

There seems to be a growing support for a reemergence of strong State’s Rights on both sides of the aisle- the way the country was originally designed to operate. Don’t like the laws in Texas? Instead of shouting your opponents down, you can know that some other state is receptive to your views that will welcome you with open arms. Hate the political/economic/cultural climate of your current state? Don’t worry, in the vast experimental laboratory of the 50 states, you can surely find one that is closer to how you want to live your life.

There is little reason to have 50 separate states if every single thing under the sun is going to be determined by half a thousand people sharing a single culture and cocooned together n the east coast. Do you Vive la différence? Then let the différence la vive.